Ralph Apel

Associated Films has many successful factors to attribute to its sudden and extreme success. One of those factors is Raplh Apel.
At the Associated Films' inception, Ralph had big ideas and big plans... some of which were a bit extreme for the fledgling film group. But, immediately, he became involved with the projects they could do. His start was a short appearance in a short film called Ben's Big Drink. But this stepping stone allowed him to take a huge leap. It landed him a supporting role in the police action movie classic, Horchata's Commandos. As John Taco, Ralph expanded the horizons of the group, achieving thrilling stunts and comedy in a single stroke. It helped flesh the group in to the juggernaut of film muscle it is today.
Riding on this wave of success, Ralph took things in to his own hands. He began plotting the course for Riverman, Associated Films' first and only horror genre film. His vision and quest for the perfect horror movie was inspiring enough to film a documentary of the production process. Though the film itself is not yet complete, the Making Of Riverman documentary has captured audiences.
&nspb; While this is going on, Ralph became a part of other projects, of few of his own creation. In 2002, Ralph attached himself to the successful Pursuit Series in Pursuit 2: Hit & Run. There, he was a the comedic relief to the stern character, "Hit," played by James Soeffner.
After rocking the screen as "Run," Ralph made a move to work behind the camera lens. He did post-production work for The Basketball Chase, Les Marriage Du Tony, and others. In 2003, Ralph shot and produced the fun spin-off to the Pursuit series, Pursuit Kids: Hit and Son.
For Show 3, held in 2004, Ralph worked a new trailer for the Riverman film. The exciting trailer gave the film a new spin, a different look, and a whole lot of satisfying glimpses in to the storyline and the characters. Ralph also took two popular characters that he created for the Scavenger Films entry, Ben's Big Stunt. Bosco and Totti, an Apel invention, were placed in their own film and a trailer was finalized and cut.
Using Scavenger Fest as a catalyst in handling a film completely on his own, Ralph Apel put his skills to the test. The result was The Dancing Deathfoot III: The Revenge Of The Unscrupulous Kung Fu, a martial arts piece (a first for Associated Films) filmed entirely in reverse and filmed and cut within the 24-hour parameter set by the festival rules. However, acclaim for the film was slow to receive. It was apparent the work was done so well that many viewers didn't realize the film was shot with the cast moving backwards. The amazing feat was accomplished, much to the credit for Ralph Apel.
Long after Show 3 and Scavenger Fest #6, Ralph has kept in mind the projects he has set in motion and the films he wants to set in motion. Without a doubt, his motivation is a constant influence to Associated Films and has thus positivley affected the group's overall dynamic. (December 2004).